New regulations offer better consumer protection

On December 25, 2014, a new law concerning consumer protection – the Act of May 30, 2014 on Consumer Rights has come into force in Poland. From the formal point of view, the act implements the provisions of the EU Directive 2011/83/EU on Consumer Rights, the fundamental objective of which is to harmonize the legislation and policy of EU Member States, so that the rights of buyers and the obligations of sellers are identical throughout the European Union. Furthermore, the act has a significant practical dimension since it gives consumers more legal tools in protecting their interest when shopping at traditional stores or online, as e-commerce becomes a more commonplace activity. If the consumer decides to shop at a traditional store, the act imposes on the entrepreneur running such a store several additional obligatory facts, which are tailored with the consumer’s interest in mind. Thus, the entrepreneur is required to provide the consumer with the following pieces of information: -  the main attributes of the goods/services to be provided; - identification data of the entrepreneur (company name, a body which has registered a business, and the number under which the activity was registered, address, phone number); - the total price or consideration (including taxes) for the goods/services and any other costs that the consumer is required to pay; - the method and date of performance of the service and the applicable procedure for dealing with complaints; - liability of the entrepreneur for the quality of service; - the content of after-sales service and guarantees; - duration of the contract; or, if the contract is for an indefinite period of time or is to be extended automatically, the method and grounds for its termination. It should be noted that such information requirements do not apply to day-to-day contracts performed immediately after their conclusion. In respect of contracts concluded online, the act extends the withdrawal period for the consumer from 10 to 14 days. Furthermore, the act clarifies that if the entrepreneur fails to inform the consumer about the right to return the goods, the right of withdrawal will expire after 12 months from the lapse of the above-mentioned 14-day period (and not after 3 months, as it used to be under the previous regime). It is worth knowing that, if the consumer withdraws from the purchase, it is he who will bear the costs of returning the goods, and the seller, apart from reimbursing the price paid for the goods, will also reimburse the buyer for the costs of the cheapest offered method of shipment.